Something woke me out of a deep sleep at around 4:00 this morning and try as I might, couldn’t get back to sleep. That’s ok, I should probably start thinking about getting my ice fishing mode going anyhow. In bed by 9 or 10 and up at 5 works. I was able to get my hands on a copy of the new fishing regulations yesterday and although the MNR added some restriction zones on Lake Nipissing, the size and limits haven’t changed. Still allowed two walleye over 18.1” but please make sure you’re up on the latest before ice fishing. The regs have been posted online. The cold front came through overnight (maybe the wind woke me up) but it looks to only last today as temps are going to rise to +2 by tomorrow morning. And so it begins. Up, down, up, down. At least the cold will settle in towards the end of the week and stick around for a few days. Dan cleaned the snow off a couple of ice huts yesterday. The last thaw we had turned the snow into a massive block of ice but it didn’t take Dan long to get rid of it. I just hate him being up on the ladder by himself. At least I was back at the shop keeping my eye on him. There has been some lake traffic the past few days and I suspect to see quite a bit more this weekend. Wouldn’t be surprised if huts start showing up shortly.

December 17, 2018 - 7:28 a.m.

I’ve had a few people mention the fact that I haven’t been updating my blog daily. There really isn’t much to report, or hasn’t been. Dan and I are just plugging away, doing a bit of work daily but also trying to get some rest in before the busy ice fishing season begins. We had a few friends drop over Friday afternoon which was fun. Yesterday Dan and Mike went out to measure the ice so I was the last line of defence on shore but they were fine. Actually started the tree line. They measured a good 12” in Greening Bay and anywhere from 9”-10” in the main body of Lake Nipissing. There is only one problem spot where a pressure crack formed. Unfortunately is happens to be about 300 metres in front of our hut location. We’ve been blessed not to have to deal with a crack the past couple of years but it’s back. It was so much better when the crack formed behind the huts and there was no need to cross it. Ever. That tells me South Bay Area may not need to contend with one this year. Or at least not a nasty one or two. Hopefully ours will heal up nicely for the season. It starts at Whiskey Island and heads directly over to the Manitous so keep an eye open if you’re venturing on the lake.

December 13, 2018 - 9:05 a.m.

I wasn’t going to update my blog today as there really isn’t much to report but the sun is shining for a change so what the heck. We had better enjoy the sunshine window because they are calling for freezing rain today and tonight, changing to rain tomorrow. I ran into a fellow I know at the feed store yesterday that I haven’t seen for a long while. Turns out it was he and a friend who were bombing around on their sleds out by Whiskey Island earlier this week. Silly boys. He did mention they were measuring all over Lake Nipissing and the thinnest ice they hit was 8 3/4 inches so pretty safe bet everyone will be hauling huts onto the ice early this year. I bet we see plenty of them out there before Christmas. The injured buck was up last night and I put a good pile of food out for him but he hid in the trees when I went out and didn’t come back to eat. However he was at the bird feeder first thing this morning so am hoping he was able to eat and another deer didn’t get there first. He’s hanging out with a doe who is likely a sibling. I was able to get a good look at his leg. It has started to curl so it is dead and drying up and I do think it will fall off eventually. As long as it doesn’t get infected, which I think it would have by now, I think he will survive. He looks pretty healthy otherwise so has a fighting chance.

December 11, 2018 - 8:07 a.m.

Don’t have a clue what woke me up at 3:22 this morning but here I am. Took me forever to get back to sleep but I did manage to grab a few more hours of shuteye eventually. Dan spent the day yesterday doing some touch ups with the snow plow and also dug out our storage trailer before it was completely buried in snow. He must have scared a groundhog as it was trying to hide in a snow bank but I think I know where it’s den is which is at the end of our driveway underneath the bedrock. Just a little guy so hope he wasn’t disturbed too much. I tackled the storage building so am zipping to town today to unload my vehicle which is full of donations. I need a few groceries and animal feed as well so that will be my day. We received some good news regarding ice reports yesterday. Looks like Lake Nipissing is currently frozen with a solid 9” in most spots, including Greening and Callander Bay’s. We do have mild weather this week but the night time temps will be dropping to below zero. We may see a little rain this weekend which can only help once the temps drop again. There doesn’t appear to be a lot of snow on the main body of the lake either which is another good thing. Of course that could easily change with the next big snowfall if there is no wind accompaniment but it’s also good to have something to bank huts with. I’m guessing we should be able to start out the season with a foot of ice which would be wonderful for a change. Bring it!

December 10, 2018 - 7:39 a.m.

We had a fairly nice weekend and the weather has warmed up considerably but it is still rather damp. We received quite a bit of snow on Saturday when the big fluffy flakes came down for a bit. I was over at Donna’s playing dominoes with the girls and it was lovely to watch the snow fall... from inside, where we were nice and comfy. Yesterday we didn’t do much but I did make Dan a nice dinner so need to clean the rib and scalloped potato pans this morning after letting them soak overnight. It is currently overcast with lots of snow clouds on the horizon and we may get a few flurries today. Temperatures are going to stay relatively mild this week but below zero. We’ve heard there is between 4” and 7” of ice at various locations on Lake Nipissing. I’m heading into the storage building for a couple of hours again today for more purging since it will be mild enough. I was too late getting my Christmas decorations up outside so not decorating this year. Too much snow for me to maneuver around so it is what it is. I’m purging a lot of decorations anyhow. Out with the old. The injured buck is still around and he actually came up early yesterday. He’s surviving as is Gato and the injured raven is still around also. I must have a target on my forehead because all these poor souls always seem to find me.

December 7, 2018 - 6:54 a.m.

Bbbrrrrr, and I mean, BBBRRRRRR! It is currently - 32 with the wind chill factor. Our temperature is sitting at -22, -25 in the Bay. Thankfully, this cold is suppose to be only for one night and then warm up but we’ll see. I’m honestly not ready for frigidness. Lol. I hit a wall yesterday and took it easy. Just wasn’t in the mood for anything other than a little housecleaning and bookwork which I did while Dan went to town to exchange his sleep apnea machine. He brought it home (this is the second brand new one) and it didn’t work right either. So now Shoppers is actually coming out here today and bringing a 3rd. Really? I guess the machines are the same as everything we buy today. Totally unreliable and not built to last. Guess we will be hanging around the house, or at least Dan will, until this gets sorted out. We’ve ordered all our propane for the upcoming season and looks like we topped up just in time. We filled the house and cottages before the carbon tax kicks in and also ordered all the bottles for the ice fishing season. Well at least enough to get us started. They only have so many bottles and actually had to come and collect our empties from last season before bringing us more. Going to be needing lots of propane this winter, I’m thinking.

December 6, 2018 - 7:41 a.m.

We’ve been busy the past few days. Dan with snow removal and I’ve been purging our storage building which contains 20 years of “things we might need”. I actually filled my vehicle with items that I took to Value Village yesterday and am sure I’ll be doing the same thing tomorrow. It is currently snowing and we received a few inches overnight so Dan will be busy yet again. It usually snows like this right before it gets cold, which it is suppose to when the cold front ushers in later this afternoon. Apparently it is due to drop to -20 overnight. The injured buck has come up the past two evenings for nourishment. He’s waiting for full on dark and also for all the other deer to vanish before he makes an appearance. I figure in his state, he likely needs sugar and protein so gave him some scratch corn (which contains corn and oats), carrots, apples and a mixture of peanuts and sunflower seeds. He seems to be doing ok and is mobile though with the deep snow, I’m sure he’s having a tough go of it and likely not going very far. Poor little guy.

December 4, 2018 - 8:54 a.m.

Sorry, I’m late this morning. I had a very hard time getting to sleep last night so slept in this morning. The sun is finally trying to shine and it’s -9 but I’m still very angry. Brutally angry. Before the hunt, we had 3 young bucks in the neighbourhood and I haven’t seen one since. Well last night, the youngest, who Dan and I know well, showed up. The poor thing has been shot and whoever shot it, didn’t finish it off. It’s front left leg is just hanging by a thread, the whole leg. The top of its leg, where it actually meets its body is where the bullet hit. When he runs, the leg is just flopping all over the place and is so painful to watch it makes me sick. Last year, someone gut shot another young buck who came to the property to die in peace. This is just senseless, bad shooting done by a very inconsiderate and disrespectful human being. Whoever you are, you should be ashamed of yourself and even more, you need to hang up your rifle because you can’t hunt. We had a 3 legged doe survive for 3 years in the neighbourhood a while back. She even went on to have two sets of twins before she was again shot and killed. It was the same incident where her leg had been shot but fell off and healed. Hopefully this buck will survive but there really isn’t much we can do as the MNR won’t come out, tranquilizer him and take him to a refuge. So very sad that we, as human beings, can’t even be decent enough to end the suffering. And no, I don’t own a gun but now that this is out there, hopefully someone in the neighbourhood will track him and end his misery. My heart hurts.

December 3, 2018 - 6:23 a.m.

What a mixed bag of precipitation we received yesterday. Rain, freezing rain, snow, freezing rain again and more snow overnight. Dan was shovelling most of the day, poor guy, but he wanted to get all the ice off the decks before the snow came so he was having to shovel 2 or 3 times to keep up. Everything was cleaned off when we went to bed but there is a few inches of snow covering everything this morning again. I was indoors most of the day and didn’t stop. Cleaned out theshops were the cat and kittens were, washed all the blankets and towels, did several other loads of laundry, cleaned the house and then cooked a nice ham supper with squash and scalloped potatoes (Dan’s favourite). I did find out yesterday the cats are being fostered and doing really well. Have a big room and lots of toys to themselves and the kittens are weaning so once they are healthy enough, they’ll hopefully be adopted. Gato is missing the mama cat as the past couple of nights, he’s been sitting outside our door for hours hoping she’ll make an appearance. Poor guy. Glad he’s a tough one.

December 2, 2018 - 7:46 a.m.

Be very careful out there today folks! We are currently experiencing heavy duty freezing rain after getting some snow first. It’s really coming down and everything is now coated. Feel badly for the critters living in the wild. I spoke to soon, it just turned to heavy snow as I’m updating this. Hopefully it’ll turn to rain as the temperature rises from just below freezing. Dan and I took Mama cat and her two precious kittens to Pet Save in Lively (near Sudbury) on Friday. Nearly broke my heart but they are better off where they are. Mama was panting in the car and not handling the car ride well so I got in the backseat and held her in my lap the entire journey. She settled down as I constantly pet her but as soon as we reached our destination and the car stopped, she started purring. Pet Save operating solely on donations, is a 3 storey house dedicated entirely to animals. The top 3 floors are strictly for cats and the basement for dogs. They currently had 129 cats when we dropped off our strays. Believe it or not, the place was immaculate, no animal smells, clean as could be with all the cats assigned their own beds, tons of litter boxes, food and water bowls and toys. All the animals were in great health. They could use a little help, for sure, as it is run by volunteers. Be something I’d be interested in if I didn’t live so far away. Still irks me there is no SPCA or animal shelters in our area and North Bay refuses to take animals unless they are from the city. I couldn’t take them to All Heart Pet Rescue as Kathy, the owner, is laid up after having her back operated on. At any rate, after dropping the cats off, Dan and I went to Costco and then spent the night at Mike and Reta’s and had a great visit. They wanted us to spend another night as it’s been a while since we’ve seen them but a good thing we didn’t as we’d have a mess to drive home in today. I’m quite content to just keep my butt parked on the couch today...at least until the precipitation, whatever form it’s in, has stopped.

November 30, 2018 - 5:34 a.m.

For some reason, I woke up early this morning. Too early. It won’t be light for hours. I did go to bed fairly early last night (at least well before my usual midnight) but still. Dan and I did a town run yesterday. He washed his truck before taking it in for snow tire installation and he ended up washing my vehicle as well. There was snow stuck in the hubs after the dumping we had and it was a rough ride into town. We did our shopping while waiting for the new tires and had time to kill so went for lunch. Gotta love Burger World. No faster joint on the planet and the food never disappoints. I had to laugh on my way to town yesterday. I was driving down Wasi Road (Hwy 654) and there was a man getting his mail in his undershorts with a coat and boots on. Lol. Only in the North. Had a nice little chuckle so thanks whoever you are. I spent some time with the kittens after we got home. They were active and playing and my heart just melts. The Mom cat was all over me and is quite content. See how it goes when we take them for a 2 hour car ride. We’ll be liberated from their care and well being soon enough. The flock of doves we had have reappeared so not sure where they disappeared to a few weeks ago. Lots of critters still around so hibernation has been delayed as the temperatures have remained pretty mild. That is changing come next week.

November 29, 2018 - 7:18 a.m.

Woke up to yet another gray day. Are we ever going to see the sun shine again? My house plants are even missing the brightness. I couldn’t tell you what I did yesterday but I never stopped. My pos machine arrived in the morning so had to mess with it for a bit to get it going. Put through all the deposits which is time consuming due to the paper trail involved. Spent some time outdoors and also with the kittens. Dan just loves the wee little things and they are doing well. One kitten seems to be more alert and playful than the other. More advanced as well as it was eating a bit of solid wet cat food while the other is still nursing. They do have their own little personalities though. The mama is just starved for affection and is having none of the outdoors as she refuses to go back outside. Don’t blame her. All 3 will be easily adoptable though so that’s a good thing. Gato sat outside our door for hours last night likely hoping the mama cat would show up. I’m sure he’s wondering what has happened to them and it breaks my heart but is definitely for the best. We are doing a quick town run today as Dan is getting the tires replaced on his truck and I have a bit of running to do. After spending most of the day on the tractor cleaning up snow yesterday, I’m sure Dan will welcome the break. It’s been rather mild temperature wise and looks like it’ll stay that way for the next few days. Unfortunately, it’s also rather damp. Beats the alternative which is very cold dry air.

November 28, 2018 - 7:23 a.m.

Wow, we certainly received our share of the white stuff over the past two days but things are settling down. The snow accumulation was significant and very heavy and took a while to get rid of. We, or I should say Dan, hasn’t gotten rid of all of it as it just kept coming yesterday. The walkways are still in need of shovelling but since we have no one in at the moment, they can wait. The roads were plowed and the house shovelled to make it a little easier for walking but there certainly is a lot more to clear. All told, we’ve probably received upwards of 6”. I finally caved and rescued Gato’s Mama friend and her two kittens yesterday. They won’t survive otherwise as she’s not cut out for Northern winters and the kittens certainly won’t be able to fend for themselves once they are off the teats. I currently have them nestled in a safe place and we are taking them to Pet Save in the next day or two. It is a wonderful “no kill” facility that finds animals forever homes after ensuring they are healthy (and spayed). If they cannot be rehabilitated enough to adopt out, they live their entire lives at the facility. The only time they euthanize an animal is when a vet deems they will not survive. Pet Save wants me to bring Gato in, who is not adoptable, so they can nueter him and he can live indefinitely at the facility but I’m not sure I can catch him. I would need to trap him and leave him in the trap until we get to the facility (2 hour drive) and we don’t always know when he’ll make an appearance. He usually comes up to the house after dark in the evenings and there is no way I will leave him trapped like that for that long. Either way, he’ll be missing his friend.

November 27, 2018 - 7:12 a.m.

Well good winter morning everyone! We have a beautiful blanket of white this morning but it isn’t as bad as it could have been. I shouldn’t really say that either as the snow isn’t quite finished yet. We didn’t get as much accumulation as expected only because it was a wet snow, meaning half rain and half snow for much of the day although it did turn to snow overnight and is continuing to snow this morning. I’m guessing the school buses will be cancelled today as the roads were slick yesterday when Dan went to town and roads have been deteriorating since then. All told as of right now, we’ve likely received 2-3 inches but I haven’t ventured out just yet. It’s such a glorious sight to see the snow sticking to the branches and clinging to everything but that’s enough now. Lol. Looking at the radar, the weather pattern is holding over top of the region and continues to “swirl” around us meaning it isn’t blowing out of here anytime soon. I was wanting to put through my deposits yesterday but my pos machine wasn’t working so called the company. It’s now obsolete and since they failed to send me a notice regarding the model we have, are sending a new one today “at a greatly discounted rate”. That’s mighty big of them considering we just paid off our contractual obligation last year and now own an obsolete machine. I’m buying this one out right and saving our business about $300. As far as I’m concerned the actual machines should be free but I guess everyone needs to make a living.

November 26, 2018 - 7:10 a.m.

We had a planned power outage yesterday morning (maintenance) which very few people seemed to know about. Hydro One had called regarding the outage and left an automated message before I left for Mexico so I wrote it down. Dan told a few people about it but they didn’t seem to know about it so didn’t believe him. Lol. We were ready and the generator was going. It’s just a good thing it was mild yesterday and not the -20 weather of a few days prior. The ice on Lake Nipissing has survived the +4 weather of yesterday but now we have a big snow storm headed our way today through tomorrow. Lots of snow on top of the existing ice doesn’t bode well for making more so we’ll have to see what happens in the long term. The school buses will likely be cancelled today, definitively tomorrow but we’re ready for whatever Mother Nature throws at us. Hopefully after the maintenance yesterday, we won’t lose power but after several blizzards the States experienced yesterday, I’m not ruling anything out. I made a batch of hearty chicken soup yesterday which can be reheated on the bbq if need be so we won’t starve ;) Today I have office work to do this morning so had better get’er done before the storm hits. It’s likely going to start snowing by 9:00 but it’s the winds I’m concerned about. Fingers crossed it won’t be too bad but I’m prepared to hunker down. Be careful out there today folks! Adjust your driving accordingly please!

November 24, 2018 - 7:41 a.m.

It’s another overcast blah day this morning as it was yesterday. Where did all the sun go that was forecasted earlier in the week? Calling for rain and or snow for the next few days and much milder temps then we have been experiencing. Considering we broke records for the coldest day this week, I’m happy to see more normal temperatures as it was only -6 when I got up this morning. Lake Nipissing is still frozen so hope the ice hangs on this week with no windstorm to break it up. I was traipsing around the property yesterday and didn’t realize until I was in the park (and away from wind zones) just how much snow we’ve actually received to date. Should have had my “big” boots on but enjoyed the walk none the less. I’m being interviewed this morning by Angelo Viola of FAN 590 sport net radio in Toronto. He interviewed me a few years back and is a fun guy. Wish Dan would take his turn and do the interview but he’s too shy. NOT! It’s all good but my voice is not the greatest right now as I’m fighting something. Likely whatever the toddler on my return plane trip home had as she was coughing all over everyone. Lol.

November 23, 2018 - 8:12 a.m.

Looks like we are shattering all kinds of records this week with the intense cold we’ve been experiencing. It peaked out at -26.6 on Wednesday night beating the 1949 record of -18.9. Last night we reached -22 but the warm front began coming in shortly after midnight and woke up to -9. The normals for overnight this time of year is -7 so yes, we shattered the record. They are calling for flurries today and rain tomorrow which is a good thing. Since the ice has formed, we need it bare to let the cold form some safe thickness. Too much snow is a bad thing as it insulates. I did my town run yesterday and it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and although a little chilly, I didn’t need my mitts so relatively mild. Today I’m puttering, have some cleaning, laundry, phone calls, bookwork. Not necessarily in that order and it’ll be whatever I feel like doing and how ambitious I am. Not sure what’s on Dan’s agenda but he’ll find something to do.

November 22, 2018 - 7:39 a.m.

The approaching full moon hasn’t disappointed as the temperatures were down right frigid last night. Our thermometer is reading -15 this morning but North Bay is recording -23 currently with a wind chill factor of -29. Bbbrrrrr. Lake Nipissing opened up yesterday due to the high winds but she’s completely frozen this morning. Unfortunately, once the moon peaks tomorrow, warmer weather is due for several days with temperatures going above zero and possibly some rain and snow. Need several days of -20 with no precipitation to make some good ice but there is still lots of time. So not looking forward to the brutal winter they are forecasting but it is what it is. Gato and his partner have been coming to the house steadily for food and it’s not in me to let them go hungry. The female has been coming 3 times a day as she’s nursing so I started giving her an all natural dewormer because cats don’t eat as much as this little kitten has been. Hopefully it’ll deworm her kittens as well, wherever they are. Don’t want to know. Dan wasn’t diligent in feeding the birds while I was on vacation and I’m actually quite happy about that. The doves have left and considering last year was the first time they actually wintered here, with the forecast being such as it is, I’m glad they’ve moved on to warmer climes. The only birds still here are the chickadees, blue jays and crows. The injured crow with the broken wing is still around and actually able to fly short distances. It’s able to keep itself up in the trees so looks like nature has spared the poor thing.

November 21, 2018 - 8:02 a.m.

The wind woke me up this morning as it was howling and when I looked out the window, it looked like a blizzard. The snow seems to have tapered off but after Dan cleaned up the property with the snow plow and shovel yesterday, it appears he’ll be doing a repeat later today. The winds are suppose to subside later this afternoon. Lake Nipissing had been froze over but she isn’t any longer. Same thing, different year. Lake freezes, winds gale, ice piles up. Greening Bay is completely frozen but the entrance to the bay from point to point and encompassing Whiskey Island has a perfect line of ice shards. It is suppose to drop to -20 with a wind chill of -28 tonight so hopefully the wind will die down and Nipissing will refreeze. We are rather early for ice this year but there are mild temps in the long term for a good week so we’ll just have to wait it out. For those interested, Nipissing almost always has the first freeze over around December 5th so we’re currently ahead of the game.

November 19, 2018 - 7:41 a.m.

I’m back! I had a great relaxing vacation in a beautiful house in a beautiful location surrounded by beautiful people and sunsets. We had a fantastic time, great food, terrific scenery and awesome weather. This is my first trip to Mexico where I didn’t do any shopping other than groceries as I have enough jewellery and Mexican trinkets. I did come home with a bottle of tequila and kahlua though. The people on the island are so helpful and friendly we had a great time but stuck mostly to the house we rented. I would definitely visit Isla Mujeres again. Our flight home was making great time and we were actually going to be an hour early arriving but due to the snow storm that was happening in Toronto, they had us in a holding pattern for an hour so we actually landed on time. The drive home once we got past Bracebridge wasn’t very much fun as the roads were pretty slippery. Obviously didn’t get the roads salted in time and saw two accidents around the Powassan area on highway 11. Glad to be home but not liking the snow. Lake Nipissing is slowly starting to freeze and looks like we may be ahead of schedule in regards to that. See what happens with the weather over the next couple of weeks. Now it’s back to the grind. I have a lot of catching up to do.

November 6, 2018

We made it to Mexico with no issues and was really surprised when we didn’t have to go through security. It is a brand new terminal in Cancun so I don’t know if that has anything to do with it but if you have nothing to declared, you just walk right through. Our casa is beautiful and exceeded all our expectations. The attention to detail certainly meets all our needs and the scenery is gorgeous. Sunrises are a great way to greet the day and the weather has been great so far. If anyone is trying to get a hold of us, please keep trying because our phone isn’t working properly again due to all the rain we’ve been experiencing in the North Bay Area. Glad I’m not there.

November 4, 2018 - 5:57 a.m.

My clock says it’s nearly 7:00 so I obviously went to bed last night without changing the clocks back. And I obviously didn’t gain an hour this morning but I will tonight. I’m outta here at noon and on my way to Toronto. Considering the weather coming our way this week, can’t come soon enough! I talked to both Lyn and Peggy last night and I’d say we’re all pumped to get this vacation started. We have rented a lovely little casa on Isla Mujeres (Island of Women) which is a small island off the coast of Cancun. We have to take a short 20 minute ferry ride to get there tomorrow but it’s a little piece of heaven and well worth it. As they drive mostly golf carts on the island, we will be doing a lot of walking as we opted not to rent a golf cart. We are in the central part of the island right on the coast but the entire island is only 5 miles long. If we do need transportation, cabs are 50 pesos anywhere you go which is about $3.50 so I think we can all afford a buck or two. So looking forward to some R&R, lots of swimming and some sweet sunshine. I’m not sure what Dan will be doing in my absence but I’m sure he’ll make the most of the peace and quiet. He’ll be nag free for the duration and there’s no honey-do list so hopefully he’ll get some rest as well. Dan can take his turn in March as he likes to go to Florida after ice fishing ends but he hasn’t wanted to go the past couple of years. His call. Hopefully he wants to get away next year as I know he enjoys it. I don’t know how often I’ll be updating my blog as I’m not sure how good the wifi will be but it is my vacation after all.

November 3, 2018 - 6:48 a.m.

One more sleep! I’m finally starting to get a little excited to be on my way but still have a few things to do. I went to town with Donna and Ginny yesterday for lunch to celebrate Donna’s birthday. We must be getting old because the celebration consisted of lunch and one alcoholic beverage. Too funny. I was home before 2:00 so did some packing which is nearly finished. I’m 5 pounds under the allotted weight allowance of 50 lbs. Half of my suitcase is food because we will be doing our own cooking so I will be nice and light coming home. I won’t be shopping as I’ve purchased so much Mexican stuff in the past I don’t really need anything else. Today I’ll be doing one final house clean, finishing my packing and that will be about it. They are calling for snow and/or rain today. I noticed a few little flurries happening when I got up but the real snow isn’t coming until later in the week. We always get a wicked winter storm every year when I’m in Mexico so am sure this year will be no exception. Dan and I “facetime” pretty much daily when I’m away and he always shows me the weather conditions so I don’t feel excluded. Lol.

November 2, 2018 - 6:41 a.m.

Yesterday wasn’t too bad weather wise. We didn’t really get the sun they were forecasting but it tried it’s darndest to shine, just too much cloud cover. I think everyone will be temporarily blinded when it does finally make a decent appearance. Calling for rain and snow today. I spent most of the day in town and then had a quick visit with a few neighbours when I dropped off the road committee stats for this year. The next few days I’ll be spending cleaning the house and getting my packing finished. I have somewhat started both but need to get cracking. I’ve just been too busy doing other things that required my attention before I leave. Dan did one last good deck clean yesterday. He bleached the decks to get rid of the black markings from flower pots and then hosed them down and sprayed the windows. They’ll sparkle for a day or two. He also did which was likely the last leaf mulching of the season. Some trees, namely poplars, where just holding on this year but Dan the man likely got 90% of the leaves cleaned up. Dan, the authority, is a little ticked (and vocal) as there have been several articles lately on how you should let leaves sit over the course of the winter as they provide food and shelter for a variety of nature’s critters. Wrong. It kills your lawn. You could however pack leaves around trees, shrubs and gardens which will provide nature with what they need. Mulching nourishes grass but leaving a thick layer will give you lots of headaches in the spring. Now you know. Lol.

November 1, 2018 - 6:33 a.m.

Dan and I have been busy doing a lot of different things this week. When the weather is nice, outside, so suffice it to say we’ve been looking at four walls quite a bit this week. Today is suppose to be cloudy with some sun but the nastiness returns tomorrow. I am leaving Sunday for my annual girls trip so I have been doing some cooking for Dan, organizing my trip, doing bookwork and getting what absolutely needs to be done, finished before I go. I opted to take the Northern Express to my hotel in Toronto this year as rates have gone up and they wanted too much money to leave my car at the hotel. Flights from North Bay to Toronto have escalated to the “no longer feasible” rate. Seriously, by the time I pay for luggage, I’m looking at $400 round trip. Screw that. I usually fly or drive myself but have found recently that my bad ankle swells on the return trip and makes driving difficult so the Northern Shuttle it is. I really don’t mind it as I read in the van and it only takes 4 hours to to be dropped right off at the hotel. By the time I waste time waiting in the airports, wait for transportation (hotel shuttle) and even though the flight is an hour long, the time is about the same by the time I get the hotel. Plus, Dan doesn’t have to take the time to drop me/pick me up at the North Bay airport as I catch the shuttle right at the Petrocan in Wasi Corners. I also don’t have to rush or get up early. I’m meeting my girlfriend Lyn in Toronto Sunday and then we are walking to the Keg for supper as we are meeting up with my sister (and family) for a much needed catch up. Jill lives in Waterloo and I really don’t get to see her much. Really looking forward to it. Today I’m doing the last town run for a bit and have plenty of stops to make. Hoping for an early start so I’m not in town all day. Dan will likely be working outside as the forecast for tomorrow is snow and rain.

October 30, 2018 - 7:34 a.m.

It was kind of a long day yesterday as I had a ton of running to do in town. Umpteen stops to make so was all over the place. I still need to go to town once more before the end of the week but the weather is suppose to improve. At least the roads were fine yesterday and not snow covered. Most of the snow has already melted and they are calling for a bit warmer temperatures with possibly rain this evening. Hopefully we will see some sunshine today first though. Both stray kitties were at my door this morning so food sources must be drying up. More likely they know where to get a good free meal without having to work for it. The female is a bit of a problem though as she keeps trying to get in the house. I have to lock Grady in the bathroom before I feed her because he cops a fit everytime she shows up. She’s pretty quick and if she does manage to get past me, there will be cat fur flying everywhere. I’d like to get her spayed in the early spring and into a good home as she’s pretty lovable but pretty sure Gato would just find another female. The other two females he “introduced” us to have been adopted so let’s just say these two will be rodent control.

October 29, 2018 - 7:34 a.m.

Winter certainly made an appearance yesterday. We had flurries and snow all day yesterday but at least it was calm and somewhat pleasant. Today, not so much. The winds are blowing out of the northwest and it is lightly snowing at the moment which isn’t suppose to clear until later this afternoon. The snow isn’t too bad but the winds are biting. I puttered around the house yesterday morning and Dan got home fairly early, much earlier than expected. He pretty much vegged for the day while I did office work in the afternoon. The office and shop were pretty chilly because I didn’t keep the fire in the stove going on Saturday but it won’t take long to warm it up again. The guns were going off again all day yesterday but doubt we’ll hear anything today as it’s just too windy. I’m heading to town anyhow. Lots of running to do today after my therapy appointment this morning so my whole day will use used up, I’m sure. I’ll need to get an early start because I actually need to clean my car off today, first time of the season. Snow is frozen on the windows because of the wind so guess I should have done that yesterday and lifted my wiper blades. The weather won’t catch me being neglectful again, lol.

October 28, 2018 - 7:21 a.m.

I woke up to snow this morning and the temperature hovering around zero. Not a lot of it but enough to provide a light dusting of white over everything. Dan is due back today from Huntsville and I hope the roads are okay because I think they may have gotten a bigger dumping than us but I’m sure the highways will be fine. It’s not cold enough yet for snow to stick around. Gato was up this morning with his lady friend in tow. I just may be able to follow their tracks this morning and see where they are living. I followed Gato’s tracks last year but lost them at a steep incline I didn’t feel like climbing at the time. Wherever they are residing, it’s a considerable distance which explains why they don’t make the trek here every night. The guns were going off like crazy yesterday so the hunters were taking advantage of the weekend. I’m sure the same will happen again today. Not a lot of waterfowl left which is understandable. I wouldn’t want to hang around where my friends are being shot either.

October 27, 2018 - 7:30 a.m.

Good morning folks. Anyone heading out early this morning from this neck of the woods, please be advised there is a serious accident on Wasi Road at Pinecreek and Wookey so you may wish to detour. Hope there are no serious injuries. It’s currently just below zero and no snow yet but there is some in the long term forecast. The horizon looks pretty ominous this morning but the sun isn’t fully up yet either. I received my iTouch by courier yesterday as promised and am just tickled with the service I have received from Apple. I spent some time yesterday setting it back up as they actually replaced my unit with another one. It’s likely a rebuild but looks brand new and works great so no complaints. It use to be difficult dealing with Apple so whoever is responsible for the improvement in the level of service, thank you and keep up the good work. I have some work to do this morning namely get all our rugs in the car to take for cleaning since they didn’t get power washed this season. Things happen. The cottage entrance mats always get a good cleaning but I’m also taking our house rugs this time around. I did them myself with a carpet cleaner last year so hopefully they are able to clean my big dining room rug which is 10’x14’. I take them to North Bay Mat Rentals who have gigantic washers but the person I spoke to yesterday seems to think they can clean it. It’s inexpensive and works great. With all the dirt and sand that gets traipsed in on a regular basis, it needs to be done.

October 26, 2018 - 6:39 a.m.

The sun made a valiant effort yesterday but it wasn’t to be. There was a little blue sky for a very short period of time but hopefully we’ll see more of it today. Yesterday was a complete write off for me as I had a terrible reaction to some medication. I was basically on the couch all day but feeling much better today. Not quite sure what’s on my agenda but I do have lots of phone calls to make this morning. I had meant to put something on my blog earlier this week and forgot but Dan had a telephone interview earlier in the week with the MTO concerning boat safety. The government gave him $150 for a 45 minute discussion regarding mostly the practices and procedures for handling boat rentals. I don’t know why the government is conducting this survey but I assume new regulations may be put in place eventually. Boaters cards (licenses) are required for a boat operator but it is currently just a questionnaire you need to pass and can be done online so I’m wondering if that is going to change. I don’t know how they could possibly do an actual “hands on” test as the resources aren’t there but I think the days of 10 year olds going fishing in a 12 foot aluminum boat with a small engine may be coming to an end. That is purely speculation and will be a sad day if it comes to fruition.

October 24, 2018 - 7:47 a.m.

Without sounding too much like gloom and doom, I gotta say, this is one of the drabbest autumns I’ve yet to experience. Never has the sun been so hard to find, or so it seems. Another day when we saw about 5 minutes of the big yellow ball and for the most part, it was overcast with showers yesterday. Same thing greeted us this morning. They are calling for sun today but looking over the lake, not counting on it. And the wind is back although it was much worse overnight than this morning. I puttered around the house yesterday. Cleaned all my window treatments and put them back up. Not much to report this time of year really. Everything has gone into winter prep mode. Including me.

October 23, 2018 - 6:09 a.m.

The wind finally died down but the temperatures are going to remain cool for the duration of this week. Most of the evenings will dip below zero and there are also flurries forecasted. I’ve been doing some house cleaning and will likely continue today. I did a major bathroom clean yesterday, washed all the rugs that could go in the machine, washed all the floors and cleaned some windows yesterday. Today I’d like to go at it in the bedroom and reorganize my cold weather clothes for the season and maybe do some more purging. I know it sounds like I do a lot of housecleaning but honestly, living next to a beach and with the high winds we’ve been experiencing this season, it’s hard to keep up. Not to mention the darn ducks have been leaving daily deposits on the house every day. Had to scrub poop off two windows outside yesterday and Dan was spraying the vinyl siding down with bleach yesterday afternoon. I’ll be so glad when they leave for warmer climes. The geese are still around which is making the hunters happy if the shotgun shots I keep hearing are any indication. Once Lake Nipissing freezes, they’ll all be gone but let’s not rush things ;)

October 21, 2018 - 5:54 a.m.

I just can’t believe the wind we’ve been experiencing this season. Seems like it just hasn’t let up. Friday was okay. Turned out to be quite mild so Dan and I worked outside all day. Donna and Mitch dropped over briefly in the afternoon and we all sat outside for a visit but the wind did pick up again and hasn’t stopped. It’s gusting to 40 km today and calling for flurries tonight so hopefully the sun will come out for a bit today. I’m just doing some laundry and house cleaning today so guess it doesn’t really matter. I have finally caught up on everything I wanted to get done so am thinking of tackling our storage building this coming week. Lots of “junk” I can likely toss, donate or give away but some things I’d like to keep. Definitely want to sort through my Christmas decorations and get them organized for December. I may be jumping the gun but now is the time to do it. I usually decorate outside before the snow flies and hopefully the Christmas lights aren’t frozen in until spring but that is generally the case. Ugh. Look at me discussing Christmas already. Bah, humbug! Lol.

October 19, 2018 - 7:39 a.m.

Yippee kiyay!! It looks like we might actually get some sun today. At least for a little while. The temperature is suppose to reach a high of 13 so I’m heading out this morning to wrap my shrubs (finally) and put away the last of the lawn furniture. Not sure what the rest of the day entails but I hope to spend as much of it outside as possible now that the wind has finally died down (and before it starts again). I spent the day in the house yesterday organizing my Itouch and so glad I did as the phone was ringing off the hook with ice fishing inquiries. Starting to book up nicely. One of the few times I did go outside yesterday, I finally saw the crow with the broken wing and it was actually flying. I don’t know how as it’s wing is still dragging and it didn’t fly far but managed to get itself up in a tree when it felt threatened by me so I think the bird will actually be able to survive the winter. Nature is a marvellous thing at times.

October 18, 2018 - 8:10 a.m.

We slept in this morning as the wind kept us up last night. Talk about a nasty weather day yesterday. We had snow and flurries on and off all day. Squalls just kept coming and we could see them approaching across Lake Nipissing. More than once we thought some water spouts would form but they never did materialize. And the wind just continued and still is. Chilly as it went below zero overnight. I did a town run and gave Dan the day off ;) although he was out there with his trusty leaf blower when I got back from town. He ended up coming in the house shortly after as a rather bad squall came through. None of the snow remains but there is more coming this weekend apparently. Once I got my town purchases organized and put away I spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone with Apple. I have to say I’m impressed with the level of customer service now. There was a time when they were terrible to deal with. I have an Itouch strictly for my pictures and music and the battery is kaput. Because North Bay apparently doesn’t have the capacity to deal with such a problem, I need to mail my Itouch directly to Apple. They made all the arrangements while I was on the phone with them so now I’m just waiting for the shipping box to arrive which takes 3 business days. However, once I send it off per their instructions, I’ve been promised my Itouch will be returned, repaired, within another 3 business days. We shall see. At least it will be like brand new (for minimal expense as the battery issue has been an ongoing problem with this model). I just hope I’m able to retrieve all my music and photos as I need to reset everything back to factory settings and I am rather computer illiterate. I need an 8 year old to help me. Lol.

October 17, 2018 - 7:17 a.m.

Wow, talk about wind!! We have a brutal nor’eastern blowing through gusting to 50 km but I’d say it’s even stronger than that. Although it was windy most of the day yesterday, it really picked up around 10:00 last night. And hasn’t stopped. I didn’t get my burlapping done because it was too windy, not to mention chilly but first nice day that I don’t have to fight with the material blowing around I’ll be out there. I’m pretty sure I already have enough burlap but am going to pick up some extra at Canadian Tire this morning. I managed to get my books done yesterday so the government will get their cheque. Dan worked outside all day. Doubt he’ll be out there today as it’s just too nasty and I think he’d be beating a dead horse. Hopefully this wind will take down the majority of remaining leaves. We had an enormous pile of pine needles from other shores all along our shoreline which had washed up during the last storm. Very thick pile and very unsightly so Dan picked them all up with the tractor and disposed of them. Wouldn’t have been a bad job raking if they were dry but they were saturated and quite heavy. I’m heading into town for my appointment this morning and then have a bit of shopping to do but figure I should be home by around 2:00. Hopefully the wind has died down and we don’t get any flurries this morning as forecasted. Although I think at this point, anything would be better than rain!

October 16, 2018 - 5:59 a.m.

It is currently 2 degrees so Lake Nipissing is keeping us a little warmer than the zero degree temperature a little inland. I swear it smelled like snow when I went to bed last night. They say snow doesn’t have a scent but I beg to differ. I can smell it in the air and so can Dan. I don’t know whether we received any flurries overnight but I do know they had snow not too much north of here. I spent the day in the office yesterday as I will today but the one good thing about it is my internal clock has finally reset and I’m sleeping like a “normal” person again. See how long that lasts. Dan was mulching and blowing, even in the rain yesterday. The wind was cooperating with him and we had an enormous amount leaves come down throughout the day. Our one huge maple next to the house is nearly bare and that is usually one of the last trees to fall. It’s making a major mess all around the house, especially at the entranceway but it won’t be long before the leaves are gone and we’ll be shovelling. I am hoping to get my books done by noon and that the current weather system disappears as I’d like to cover my shrubs this afternoon. Not quite sure I have enough burlap for the entire job but I can get the ones that are less hearty covered for the winter. I am going to town tomorrow so will get what I need to finish the job this week.

October 15, 2018 - 5:43 a.m.

I’m not sure what was just on the radar that past by our place but it sure looked like flurries. I didn’t think it was cold enough at +7 this morning but stranger things have happened. I couldn’t see anything outside as it’s still too dark and think I just missed whatever precipitation passed over and considering nothing is wet outside, probably not even worth mentioning. Yesterday we had sun for all of 5 minutes first thing in the morning. I was planning on going for a bike ride but once the sun disappeared ...”nah”. I ended up cleaning my fridge and doing some laundry. Then I finished organizing my invoice receipts and made a nice pot roast for supper. Today I’m locking myself up in the office aka dungeon where I’ll be for the next couple of days. Get ‘er done. Dan was outside blowing or mulching leaves again yesterday as I’m sure he will again today if it isn’t raining. He still has one last cottage to winterize before Wednesday when the weather is suppose to turn nasty, or at least get colder then it’s been. Whatever keeps him busy.

October 14, 2018 - 7:19 a.m.

It looks like we are in for a week of overcast skies with rain sprinkled throughout. Not a whole lot of sunshine in the forecast at all. Usually November is the blandest month but it seems October is a close second this year. Today will be no exception. The weather sites are depressing to look at these days. I’m likely going to hit the books today and why not. If the sun does make an appearance, I’m definitely going for a walk or bike ride just to get some fresh air. I was out and about yesterday but only because I needed to go to town. I did notice a lot of the ducks have flown to better locals as we don’t have many left around here. Geese are still in and out of the bay daily but don’t know if they are the same flock over and over as the numbers tend to fluctuate. Not many deer left in the neighbourhood either. There are still a few blackbirds around which have usually all gone by now and we have a fairly large flock of doves which will likely winter here as they did last year for the very first time. Still a few chipmunks around but only until the snow flies and then they’ll hibernate. Speaking of which, we did have some very light flurries yesterday so it is coming. Yuck.

October 13, 2018 - 8:01 a.m.

This wind can just bugger off anytime. We were hoping to have a fire with a few friends this afternoon but it’s going to be too windy here. They are actually calling for flurries this morning with a wind shift this afternoon from north to south and 40 km/hr. Apparently it’s -2 in the Bay but we are registering +3 here so the Lake Nipissing “breeze” is actually keeping us a tad warmer. I had a couple of hungry kitties outside my door this morning so looks like Gato is keeping his girlfriend. He needs neutering but is just too smart and too feral to catch. Dan zipped into town and ended up buying a compressor yesterday and then winterized the trailer park. He’s doing the cottages today. I made some killer meatball soup loaded with veggies and also cut up lots of extras for a stir fry last night for supper. The soup is actually for today regardless of whether we have company or not. Nothing like a hot bowl of homemade soup on a cold dreary day. I started the books, just going through the invoices for data entry but didn’t get very far. Donna and Mitch dropped in briefly and that was about it for me. Today I’m just doing a little cleaning, zipping quickly into town for a few groceries and then either getting back to the invoicing or having company. The day will unfold as it’s meant to be.

October 12, 2018 - 7:53 a.m.

Bbbbrrrrr, she’s a chilly one this morning! It’s very windy, as it has been all night and hovering around the zero degree mark. Lots of leaves came down overnight and are plastered everywhere. Dan is hoping to get his hands on a compressor today and get the winterizing off his plate. He hasn’t been able to rent one as they’ve all been booked so everyone is thinking the same thing. Ours just isn’t powerful enough for the park lines. I was in the office again yesterday and then had to do a quick zip into town. Now have two of the 3 major bookkeeping jobs off my plate. Namely the trailerpark accounts and invoicing as well as the road committee financials which are completed once annually and distributed. Will likely spend today starting the 3rd but will take 2-3 days to complete so next week I’ll be done with the books until year end. It’s not shaping up to be an outdoor day as anticipated unless this wind dies down which isn’t likely to happen. I bought some ingredients when I was in town yesterday for some homemade soup so I’ll start there and see where the day takes me. I’m sure a few people were hoping to get in one last fish this weekend before the season closes but by the current state of Lake Nipissing, it’s a blow day today and not likely to happen.

October 11, 2018 - 7:51 a.m.

Wow, woke up this morning to 18 degrees and right balmy. Crazy weather when you consider they are being bombarded with snow and freezing rain north of us. It’s completely overcast and quite dismal but things are due to change. Cool down coming through the day and possibly even sunny skies. We had a couple of brief sunny breaks yesterday but for the most part it was overcast with light rain. Geez, really have to take advantage of the bright skies when we get them as they are few and far between. There are still fishermen out and about, mostly for Muskie but they too, need to take advantage, as Lake Nipissing closes in a few days. The leaves have pretty much peaked and are falling rapidly now. Not a very colourful autumn compared to other years but not surprising either. Not enough rain this summer and nature is conserving itself I think. We have some trees that have completely dropped their leaves already and others that are still green. Our cedars are shedding more than usual so most are half green and half brown. Can’t believe the chipmunks are still around but then with 18 degree temps, they’ll continue collecting food until the snow flies.

October 10, 2018 - 8:20 a.m.

I slept in this morning and Dan is still in bed. It was so beautiful yesterday we both spent the entire day outside in the heat and sunshine. It reached a high of 25 here and I actually had to put shorts and a t-shirt on. I managed to get all my garden decor to bed and the many flower pots cleaned and put into hibernation for the season. It was a lot of work to do in one day but took advantage of the window of opportunity. So glad I did as wave after wave of thunderstorms rolled through here last night dropping the temperature to 8 degrees in the Bay, 10 here. They are actually calling for snow flurries later in the week. I just need to get some more burlap to wrap a few shrubs and put the deck table/chairs away and I’m done until next year. It’s not happening today as the weather sucks. Overcast, rainy and cold with dampness after all the rain we received over night. Torrential rain everytime a line of thunderstorms rolled through which was about every 2 hours. No sleep for us until around 5:00 this morning. I’m spending the day in the office today. Good day for it.

October 9, 2018 - 8:07 a.m.

Wow! What a beautiful morning. The sun is partially out, there is a warm breeze blowing and it’s already 19 degrees. I’ve turned down the heat and opened up the house. Dan is heading to town right shortly to pick up his new CPAP machine and then he’s renting a compressor to do the winterizing on the property. We talked about buying a new one but he only needs it once a year so it’s more feasible to rent. I’m spending the day outside putting away all my garden stuff for the season. Some of it is really tired so will be doing another purge and throwing some things out. I watched the season finally of The Sinner last night. I have to say this season wasn’t as good as the first one but was still a pretty good mystery to solve. The plot twist at the end, I really didn’t see coming. Good show.

October 8, 2018 - 7:30 a.m.

As predicted, it has been a very gloomy rainy weekend. Where did the sun disappear to? Today is no exception either. Overcast with a few sprinkles and as a warm front comes in today, likely thunderstorms a little later. I was greeted by Gato and his girlfriend this morning. She is a rather vocal little thing and very timid but is warming up to me. Maybe the fac